Dallas Eakins joins Adler Mannheim as coach, sports manager

Long-time NHL coach Dallas Eakins is making his first trek overseas.

German club Adler Mannheim announced that Eakins would take on the dual role as coach and sports manager, taking over for Johan Lundskog and Jan-Axel Alavaara, respectively.

It marks his first official coaching gig since getting let go by the Anaheim Ducks as coach earlier this spring. He spent four years leading the Ducks, but never made the playoffs. Before that, Eakins had a two-year run with the Edmonton Oilers in the pre-Connor McDavid era but failed to make the postseason in his first year and was let go after 31 games in 2014-15. Eakins made a name for himself in the AHL, where he helped lead the Toronto Marlies to first place in the North Division twice. He returned to the second-tier league to coach San Diego for four years before getting the call-up to Anaheim, making it as far as the conference finals in 2019.

A former player, Eakins had nine assists and 208 penalty minutes in 120 career NHL games with Winnipeg/Phoenix, Florida, St. Louis, Toronto, Calgary and both New York teams. He spent most of his career in the AHL, where he had 27 goals, 134 points and 1,051 penalty minutes in 609 games.

Mannheim has fallen below expectations this year, currently sitting with a 9-8-3-2 record in eighth place in the 14-team league. Former NHLers Curt Fraser and Marcel Goc will remain as assistant coaches, while the roster features a host of familiar names such as Tyler Ennis, Tom Kuhnhackl, Korbinian Holzer, Linden Vey and John Gilmour, among others with NHL experience.

Mannheim last won the German league title back in 2019, and has lost in the semifinals three years in a row. The team has won eight championships since being founded in 1938, with the first coming back in 1980.